Australian Institute of Management (AIM)

If you intend to apply for migration to Australia under one of the General Skilled Migration categories, you must have a nominated occupation which is on the Skilled Occupations List at the time you apply. In order to make a valid application, you must have obtained a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation.

AIM is the assessing authority for a variety of occupations under the Managers and Administrators category of the Skilled Occupation List.

Managers and Administrators are:

Heads of government, legislative, industrial, commercial, agricultural and other establishments; or

Heads of Departments within these organisations.

They determine the policy of the organisation or department, and direct it's functioning, through other managers, and coordinate economic, social, technical, legal and other policies.

All occupations in this major group have a level of skill commensurate with a Bachelor degree or higher qualification. In some instances relevant experience is required in addition to the formal qualification.

Tasks performed by managers typically include:

Formulating, administering and reviewing the policy and legislation which determine the direction to be taken by the organisation they head;

Controlling, directing and participating in the activities of that organisation personally and through a hierarchy of managers and supervisors;

Establishing operational and administrative procedures; and

Controlling the selection of senior staff and the allocation of resources.

Managers and Administrators are typically associated with the top 3 positions in a large organisation.

AIM Criteria

To be successfully assessed as a manager for migration purposes by AIM, applicants must hold a senior management position at the level of an Associate Fellow of AIM. The criteria for assessment are outlined below.

A record of proven management achievement over a period of 5 years or more in a senior management position such as a:

Chief Executive;

General Manager;

Senior Functional Manager;

who delegates authority to several other managers who hold positions requiring the delegation of work to several other positions of a supervisory, technical or skilled nature.

The years of experience may be reduced if the applicant has educational qualifications in management studies or business administration assessed as comparable to an Australian Masters degree, Bachelor degree or RATE diploma, or in a discipline relevant to the field in which the manager is working. AIM would allow 1-year credit against required experience for the applicant's educational qualifications. A critical factor to be considered in assessing a position against the guidelines is whether a person delegates authority to other managers who are themselves responsible for planning, organisation, decision-making, staffing and control and who in turn delegates to others.

To be eligible for the level of an Associate Fellow the applicant would require senior management experience across a diverse range of functional areas, with staff with diverse functional responsibilities and at a management level reporting. He or she would also be required to have a significant contribution to the strategic development and management of the organisation as a whole.

For consideration at Associate Fellow level a manager would be required to have a key strategic and leadership role across a diverse range of functional areas. A senior management position is assessed in terms of the scope of operations and such a position would include functions such as strategic planning for the organisation, development or operational plans, and allocation of staff and preparation of financial plans. It would be involvement in these areas over a number of years that would lead to a manager being recognised as having a position at the senior management level.

The criteria for recognition as having skills equivalent of that of an Associate Fellow make it clear that the person must be responsible for a range of organisational functions and to have such responsibilities at a level which is concerned with policy and not just operations. A senior manager at the Associate Fellow level would play a key role in shaping and influencing the development and direction of the organisation through establishing objectives, strategies and tactics.